1 min. with a Superhero: Kurt de Beer, KDB Tree Felling
by Fred Roed on 01/03/10 at 6:40 am
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Today we’re privileged to mix it up with a real live lumberjack, Kurt de Beer of Western Cape-based treefelling company, KDB Tree Felling. This modern day maverick of the trees is an inspiration to us here at Ideate, having made a successful business out of an age-old profession.
When and why did you decide to become a tree-feller?
I started off making firewood during the school holidays in 1994. When I left school in 1996 I figured out that the summers were long and dry… financially as well as physically. I couldn’t sit around splitting wood the whole summer long as I would die of thirst and wither away, so I decided to venture into tree felling. The outdoors and physical part of the job appealed too me too.
Is it easy to get into a profession like tree-felling?
There no courses on tree felling that I know of in South Africa, so in that way it’s certainly not easy.
Is it as dangerous as it looks?
If you bite off more than you can chew it’s much more dangerous than it looks. The saying “cowboys don’t cry” isn’t true in this line of work.
Spoken like another man van staal, Naas Botha. What advice do you have for Ideate readers who want to get into the business of cutting down trees?
Don’t get into it if you think it’s going to be a job to make quick cash. If you’re prepared to learn and you’re not scared to get your hands dirty – and are prepared to learn from your mistakes – then it’s a great business to be in.
We also noticed on KDB Tree Felling website that you do testing as well. We can’t help notice that tree testing seems quite an innovative service for South Africa – tell us what it’s all about.
Well, I’ve been researching this for a while. I travelled to the US to source the very latest in tree radar technology. KDB Tree Fellers now offers its clients non-invasive tree testing. This is highly beneficial when testing for trees that are potentially dangerous in your garden or in a public area.
Ok, so it’s a ‘pre-emptive’ service. On another note, we’ve all seen movies where lumberjacks walk through the forest, cutting down redwoods, smoking Camel cigarettes and killing grizzlies with their bare hands. Now, obviously it’s not that glamorous – but tell our readers what the best part of the job is?
Being outdoors! Everyday is different as you move from job to job.
Alright, Ideate readers… if you want to have trees cut down in the Western Cape, hire a chipper, buy firewood, diagnose a tree, hire a truck, buy mulch or do some milling, you can get hold of Kurt by emailing him or phoning KDB Tree Felling at 021 790 2077.
Fred Roed is the marketing guy in the Ideate crew. Fred is the CEO of web marketing company World Wide Creative and the co-founder of online learning portal Heavy Chef. Fred loves writing about people out there doing marketing right. Follow Fred on Twitter here. View more articles by Fred Roed.
